Tsunami alert lifted after strong undersea earthquake in Philippines

By Jim Gomez

Published
1:34 pm PST, Saturday, December 29, 2018

MANILA — A powerful undersea earthquake struck off the southern Philippines on Saturday, prompting people to scramble out of shopping malls and buildings and authorities to warn villagers to stay away from beaches in case of a tsunami.

No casualties or major damage were reported hours after the quake struck before noon, and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center canceled its warning for a potential tsunami that it had said could hit coastal areas of the southern Philippines and Indonesia.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake was detected at a depth of 37 miles and a magnitude of 7.2 about 100 miles off Davao Oriental province. Several aftershocks, including one with a magnitude of 5.6, were later felt by residents, officials said.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 6.9.

Shortly after the quake struck, Renato Solidum, who heads the quake-monitoring institute, said a major tsunami was unlikely given the quake’s depth, but his agency advised villagers to avoid beaches in Davao Oriental province and outlying coastal regions for about two hours after the quake hit as a precaution.

The quake was felt in several southern provinces and cities, including in President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown of Davao and in nearby Tagum. Shoppers, including children yelling in fear, rushed out of a five-story mall, and many occupants abandoned a 26-floor condominium in a commercial district as the ground shook.

Indonesia’s Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said the quake didn’t have the potential to cause a tsunami affecting that country, which is still reeling after a Dec. 22 tsunami caused by a volcanic eruption killed more than 420 people.